Welcome to House of Hsueh [Shuw-eh.]

It was a pleasure meeting Benita at the Holt’s on Thursday. We sat and had great discussions on the petite world of fashion and why she developed her line. Benita is the designer and proprietor of House of Hsueh, a label who’s emphasis is on bringing the average (<5'4") figure into the spotlight. You notice how I said average... that's because as Benita pointed out, 5'4 IS AVERAGE. She doesn't plan on marketing her new line as petite because she believes that it should fit the average woman. She doesn't want to limit the amount of ladies who look at her line because they may not consider themselves petite. Benita has a style all her own, to me it's like grown up street-wear that you could wear to the office. Her unique designs will appeal to the youthful and modern professional woman, they are completely multi functional and multi-use. Her designs are inspired by the idea of world travel, executive airport lounge aesthetic, and the functional yet designer style of stewardess attire. Everything is handmade limited editions of one of a kind items in new and vintage fabrics. Incase, you're not sure what "handmade" means (I didn't), it means that that same person sews that garment from start to finish, with a machine not with a needle and thread. To make her designs that much sweeter, everything is made in Canada.

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?
Benita wore a top and capri from her collection and accessorized with leather earrings from her collection.
I wore a wrap dress from Forever 21 (FYI, Toronto ladies one just opened at Yonge & Dundas Square) and hoop earrings from H&M.;)

HEIGHT
5’0

HER STYLE
Mod-wearable, no bubblegum colors. She’s inspired by the 50′s & 60′s, think coifed & elegant not hippie. She is inspired by aspects of the Space Age in the 50′s and she loves Jackie O. She travels a lot and she likes her clothes to look great when she gets off the plane and you can see these features in her designs.

WHAT SHE’D WEAR TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS
She’d dress Mod, in one of her designs and she’d choose red or orange.

SHE SHOPS
Benita loves small Toronto boutiques and her favs are; Nathalie-Roze + Co and Belinda’s Boutique, these shops also sell her line. She finds great vintage items at Estate sales, she loves the way that vintage clothing was made by hand and how people took care of their clothes.

DREAM PURCHASE
A Chanel suit.

SHE NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT
Wearing a great pair of earrings.

WARDROBE ESSENTIALS
A Cocktail dress, great Shoes with a comfy heel and 3/4 length jacket.

ON HEIGHT
She has found her height to be an advantage in most aspects of her life. She thinks that she can get away with more because people don’t see you as a threat. In the corporate world it’s very difficult to get past the cute factor and get people to take you seriously. In her experience people thought she looked too young and it took her a while for people to take her seriously.

FASHION GRIPES
She doesn’t shy away from capris like post petites, but thinks heels are needed when wearing them.

ADVICE
Wear what ever you want, just have it fit proportioned to your body.

Shop House of Hsueh online by clicking the title or visit her site.